Joan Esposito (Full Episodes)
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Here are full episodes of "Joan Esposito: Live, Local and Progressive" (weekdays from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. Central on WCPT Chicago), a topical and interactive talk show from Chicago that focuses on national, state and city politics.
A veteran Chicago broadcaster, Joan talks to politicians and professors, activists and authors, candidates and correspondents, as well as listeners who call in to share their views on the news of the day. Her goal is to Edify, Entertain and Elect — Democrats, of course.
Joan Esposito has hosted WCPT's afternoon show since 2019. Prior to that she spent 20 years as a Chicago television anchor and reporter for WGN Channel 9, ABC7 and NBC5, and had a stint as managing partner at media trainer J2SC. Joan is a long-time member of the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA).
Location:
United States
Description:
Here are full episodes of "Joan Esposito: Live, Local and Progressive" (weekdays from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. Central on WCPT Chicago), a topical and interactive talk show from Chicago that focuses on national, state and city politics. A veteran Chicago broadcaster, Joan talks to politicians and professors, activists and authors, candidates and correspondents, as well as listeners who call in to share their views on the news of the day. Her goal is to Edify, Entertain and Elect — Democrats, of course. Joan Esposito has hosted WCPT's afternoon show since 2019. Prior to that she spent 20 years as a Chicago television anchor and reporter for WGN Channel 9, ABC7 and NBC5, and had a stint as managing partner at media trainer J2SC. Joan is a long-time member of the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA).
Language:
English
Episodes
Joan Esposito Live Local & Progressive December 4 2025
12/4/2025
On today's show:
– Dr. Anthony Douglas, trauma surgeon at University of Chicago Hospital, and one of the lead organizers behind the Responsibility in Firearm Legislation Act, or RIFL Act in Illinois
– Virginia Canter, ethics and anti-corruption chief counsel and director, Democracy Defenders Fund
– Pat Kreitlow, founder and editor of Up North News (Courier)
– Heartland Signal’s Rich Eberwein with three stories you might have missed from our digital newsroom
Catch "Joan Esposito: Live, Local and Progressive" weekdays from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. Central on WCPT (heartlandsignal.com/programs/live-local-progressive).
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Duration:02:30:09
Joan Esposito Live Local & Progressive December 3 2025
12/3/2025
On today's show:
– Tod Maffin, author of “From Far and Wide with Tod Maffin” and online content creator
– Lisa Stark, former ABC News reporter who recently penned a letter to Disney CEO Bob Iger calling on him to defend free press and protect ABC journalists from political pressure
– Mark Jacob and Jennifer Schulze with our regular media segment
Catch "Joan Esposito: Live, Local and Progressive" weekdays from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. Central on WCPT (heartlandsignal.com/programs/live-local-progressive).
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Duration:02:31:42
Joan Esposito Live Local & Progressive December 2 2025
12/2/2025
Tue 12/2
– Wayne Steger, professor of political science at DePaul
– Elisha Brown, Reproductive Rights Today newsletter author at States Newsroom
– Rev. Dr. Michael Woolf, Th.D., pastor-activist-theologian, senior minister at Lake Street Church of Evanston
– Dr. Kristin Lyerly, OB/GYN, 2024 candidate for Wisconsin’s 8th Congressional District, plaintiff in a lawsuit challenging Wisconsin’s pre-Civil War abortion law, and host of “The Kristin Lyerly Show” on Civic Media — the show makes it WCPT debut Saturday at 5:00 p.m. Central!
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Duration:02:23:52
Joan Esposito Live Local & Progressive December 1 2025
12/1/2025
Mon 12/1
– Tamar Jacoby, contributor to Washington Monthly and the Kyiv-based director of the Progressive Policy Institute’s New Ukraine Project and the author of “Displaced: The Ukrainian Refugee Experience.” Her latest article for Washington Monthly is “
Three Lessons From Trump’s Latest Plan for Ukraine.”
– Melissa Bean, Democratic candidate for Congress in the 8th District of Illinois
– Terry Cosgrove, senior adviser to Project 50 and former president and CEO of Personal PAC
– Dr. Roger Mitchell, president of the National Medical Association, the nation’s oldest and largest organization representing Black physicians and their patients
– Stacy Kess, founder and chief of editorial at Equal Access Public Media
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Duration:02:26:36
Joan Esposito Live Local & Progressive November 26 2025
11/26/2025
On today's show:
– Margaret Donovan, attorney at Koskoff Koskoff and Bieder, visiting clinical lecturer in law at Yale Law School, former assistant United States attorney for the District of Connecticut, Army veteran and former captain in the Judge Advocate General (JAG) Corps
– Jane Kirtley, professor of Media Ethics and Law at the University of Minnesota and former executive director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press
– Dan Schaefer, member of Chicago Gay Men’s Chorus, which presents “A Holly Dolly Christmas” December 5-7
Catch "Joan Esposito: Live, Local and Progressive" weekdays from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. Central on WCPT (heartlandsignal.com/programs/live-local-progressive).
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Duration:02:30:34
Joan Esposito Live Local & Progressive, November 25, 2025
11/26/2025
On today's show:
– George D. Strickland, recently retired Lake County associate judge for the Nineteenth Judicial Circuit Court of Lake County
– Laura Leslie, editor of NC Newsline
– Chef Lisa Counts of The Chopping Block
– Chicago Ald. Matt O’Shea
Catch "Joan Esposito: Live, Local and Progressive" weekdays from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. Central on WCPT (heartlandsignal.com/programs/live-local-progressive).
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Duration:02:29:35
Joan Esposito Live Local & Progressive, November 24, 2025
11/24/2025
On today's show:
– Camaron Stevenson, national correspondent in Washington, D.C. for Courier
– Jill Wine-Banks, legal analyst, former general counsel of the U.S. Army, author of “The Watergate Girl,” co-host of #SistersInLaw and host of Just The Facts with Jill Wine-Banks
– Joe Walsh, former Republican congressman from Illinois and host of The Social Contract with Joe Walsh
– Gabrielle Oliveira, author of “Now We Are Here: Family Migration, Children’s Education, and Dreams for a Better Life”
Catch "Joan Esposito: Live, Local and Progressive" weekdays from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. Central on WCPT (heartlandsignal.com/programs/live-local-progressive).
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Duration:02:27:12
Joan Esposito Live Local & Progressive, November 21, 2025
11/22/2025
On today's show:
– Joel Ostrow, professor of political science at Benedictine University
– Chris Fitzsimon of the Stories from the States podcast
– Rebecca Ford, film critic
Catch "Joan Esposito: Live, Local and Progressive" weekdays from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. Central on WCPT (heartlandsignal.com/programs/live-local-progressive).
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Duration:02:29:43
Joan Esposito Live Local & Progressive November 20 2025
11/20/2025
On today's show:
– Rep. Brad Schneider (D-IL)
– Susan Rinkunas, independent journalist covering abortion, reproductive health, and politics; she is a co-founder of Autonomy News and a contributing editor at The New Republic
– Mark Jacob with our regular media segment
– Heartland Signal’s Rich Eberwein with three stories you might have missed from our digital newsroom
Catch "Joan Esposito: Live, Local and Progressive" weekdays from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. Central on WCPT (heartlandsignal.com/programs/live-local-progressive).
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Duration:02:30:35
Joan Esposito Live Local & Progressive November 19 2025
11/19/2025
On today's show:
– William Muck, professor of political science at North Central College
– Spencer Critchley, author of Patriots of Two Nations and host of the Dastardly Cleverness in the Service of Good podcast
Catch "Joan Esposito: Live, Local and Progressive" weekdays from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. Central on WCPT (heartlandsignal.com/programs/live-local-progressive).
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Duration:02:32:43
Joan Esposito Live Local & Progressive November 18 2025
11/18/2025
Tue 11/18
– Kendall Scudder, chair of the Texas Democratic Party
– Susan Tebben, award-winning journalist with Ohio Capital Journal
– Ray Long, recently retired Chicago Tribune investigative reporter and board member of the Chicago Headline Club
– Joyce Vance, author of “Giving Up is Unforgivable: A Manual for Keeping a Democracy“; distinguished professor of the Practice of Law at the University of Alabama; author of the “Civil Discourse” newsletter on Substack; and former U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Alabama
– John Mueller, creator and director of “One Night in Memphis North,” coming to the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts November 23, for one night only
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Duration:02:26:43
Joan Esposito Live Local & Progressive November 17 2025
11/17/2025
– Paul Glastris, editor-in-chief of the Washington Monthly
– Greg Hinz, columnist for Crain’s Chicago Business
– Tom Moss, member of the Blue Beginning chapter of theIndivisible Chicago Alliance, and co-host of “Show Up Chicago,” a monthly political panel show held at the Hideout Inn
– Jared Bernstein, chairman of the United States Council of Economic Advisers under President Joe Biden, contributor to the Substack newsletter The Contrarian and to Washington Monthly
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Duration:02:26:01
Joan Esposito Live Local & Progressive November 14 2025
11/14/2025
On today's show:
– Hannah Meisel, government and politics reporter for Capitol News Illinois
– Kelly Jensen, editor at Book Riot, the largest independent book website in North America
– Sam Polan, U.S. Army veteran and former Pentagon policy adviser, who is now a Democratic candidate for Congress in the 9th District
– John Fugelsang, comedian and best-selling author; his pay-per-view special takes place Saturday night!
Catch "Joan Esposito: Live, Local and Progressive" weekdays from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. Central on WCPT (heartlandsignal.com/programs/live-local-progressive).
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Duration:02:29:47
Joan Esposito Live Local & Progressive November 13 2025
11/13/2025
On today's show:
– Our Pet of the Month segment with Craig Botagowski of Mark Drugs and Danielle Case, senior director of Shelter Services at Anticruelty
– Lynda Lopez, Emmy-award winning journalist who has anchored and reported for ABC News, WCBS-TV and NewsRadio 880
– Joel Ostrow, professor of political science at Benedictine University
– Heartland Signal’s Rich Eberwein with three stories you might have missed from our digital newsroom
Catch "Joan Esposito: Live, Local and Progressive" weekdays from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. Central on WCPT (heartlandsignal.com/programs/live-local-progressive).
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Duration:02:29:52
Joan Esposito Live Local & Progressive November 12 2025
11/12/2025
On today's show:
– Rep. Jonathan Jackson (D-IL)
– Juliet Jeske, founder of Decoding Fox News, a crowd-funded media project
– Robert Held, Chicago attorney recently detained by ICE but not charged with a crime
– Charles Cook, award-winning reality TV and daytime talk TV producer, and former broadcast journalist who worked in the WLS-TV, WGN-TV and WFLD-TV newsrooms
Catch "Joan Esposito: Live, Local and Progressive" weekdays from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. Central on WCPT (heartlandsignal.com/programs/live-local-progressive
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Duration:02:35:36
Joan Esposito Live Local & Progressive November 11 2025
11/11/2025
Tue 11/11
– Army Maj. Gen. Randy Manner (Ret.), former acting and deputy director of the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, former acting vice chair of the National Guard Bureau, and member of National Security Leaders for America (NSL4A)
– Majid Padellan, AKA Brooklyn Dad Defiant
– David Hochberg, vice president of lending for Team Hochberg at Homeside Financial
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Duration:02:22:44
Joan Esposito Live Local & Progressive November 10 2025
11/10/2025
Mon 11/10
– Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, candidate for U.S. Senate
– Mike Nellis, Democratic strategist and host of “Endless Urgency with Mike Nellis
– Joel Willett, Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Kentucky
– Pete Dominick, news commentator, stand-up comic, and host of the “Stand Up! with Pete Dominick” podcast
– Rich Logis, founder and executive director of Leaving MAGA
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Duration:02:28:05
Joan Esposito Live Local & Progressive November 7 2025
11/7/2025
Fri 11/7
– Suzanne Chod, professor of political science at North Central College
– Jennifer Silverton, co-founder of Xceptional Heroes (XH)
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Duration:02:27:49
Joan Esposito Live Local & Progressive November 6 2025
11/6/2025
On today's show:
– Daniel Biss, mayor of Evanston and candidate for Congress [Listen to the conversation]
– Ed Yohnka, director of communications and public policy at ACLU Illinois
– Joe Brancatelli of the joesentme.com business travel newsletter
– Rusty Hicks, chair of the California Democratic Party
– Heartland Signal’s Rich Eberwein with three stories you might have missed from our digital newsroom
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Duration:02:30:17
Joan Esposito Live Local & Progressive November 5 2025
11/5/2025
On today's show:
– Aaron Kleinman, head of research at Heartland Signal
– Michael Dorf, Democratic lawyer, the Law Offices of Michael C. Dorf, LLC
– Brian Endless, senior lecturer and director of African Studies and the African Diaspora at Loyola University Chicago
Catch "Joan Esposito: Live, Local and Progressive" weekdays from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. Central on WCPT (heartlandsignal.com/programs/live-local-progressive).
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Duration:02:30:33